Traveling by Taxi from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU)

While the public transport system in Puerto Rico is rather unfriendly for tourists, the tourist taxi system to get visitors from the San Juan International Airport to other areas is quite organized, straight-forward, and seemingly fraud-proof.  Upon exiting the airport from the baggage claim area, procedure directly the the taxi waiting line.  Look for plain white cars/vans with "Taxi Turistico" logo that are operated by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.

The normal wait time is 1-3 minutes.  Just tell the greeting agent where you would like to go.  Spanish is the main language, but most drivers are capable of basic conversational English.  Remember the Spanish word "calle" means "street" in English. The drivers are usually friendly. I had once unknowingly forgotten my mobile phone in a cab and the driver took his own initiative to drop off the phone half and hour later.  (Or perhaps he did so because I had given him a generous tip for good service).

The fare is a fixed rate, independent of travel time and distance, based on zones as the tourist taxi cabs/vans are not equipped with meters.  Puerto Rico is a US territory so payments should be made in US dollars.

Figure 1. Taxi Zones in San Juan Metro Area (Click to enlarge)

Figure 2.  Fixed Taxi Rates from SJU Airport Within Metro Area (Click to enlarge)

For example, a trip from SJU to Old San Juan (Zone 4) with one luggage piece should cost no more than $21.50 -- that's $18 for the fare + $1.50 for fuel surcharge + $1 for luggage.  Beware that some dishonest drivers will attempt to charge you $23-25.

If you want to travel to towns outside of the metro area, see the fare rates below.  A one-way trip from San Juan airport to Fajardo would be $80.

Figure 3.  Fixed Taxi Rates from SJU to Outside Metro Area (Click to enlarge)